


The Lost Stone

by wethecommon



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-22 15:49:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15585303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wethecommon/pseuds/wethecommon
Summary: Lily Luna stumbles upon a peculiar stone in the depths of the forbidden forest





	The Lost Stone

Lily Luna wouldn’t say she’s an annoying little sister. On the contrary, she considers herself a _caring_  little sister. So in times when she’s found out spying on her older brothers, it’s out of _care_. But of course, she had known for a while her brother Al was up to something. He had hid himself away in his room _all_ summer and she hardly ever saw him. Which was greatly upsetting to her because she had so many questions for him about Hogwarts, which she would be attending that coming September, and unlike James, Al would give her honest answers that wouldn’t terrify her. But alas, Al hardly showed his face and because of it, Lily felt rather grim. 

And then September arrived, and she finally entered the long awaited gates of Hogwarts, nervous yet excited. The hat that was placed on her head shouted the sought after cry of “Gryffindor!” and she went to hug her eldest brother, James, as he welcomed her to the table. But when she looked over to Albus at the Slytherin table, she found he wasn’t looking her way. 

Lily quickly began to think the worst. Was Al avoiding _her?_ Did she do something wrong? She wished she could confide in someone her worries, but the truth was she didn’t have anyone. She had yet to make friends at Hogwarts and James wouldn’t be interested in hearing them. If she confided in her parents, they would just write to Albus to make him talk to her which wouldn’t help in the slightest. The one person who would really listen to her and give honest and kind advice was the very one avoiding her. 

These worries blighted what should have been an exciting first week at the school she had dreamt so long of going to. For every time she passed Al in the corridors to say hi, he would only offer a quick grimace before hurrying away. She felt like some sort of disease. 

She tried to make friends, she really did, and succeeded with another Gryffindor first year, Melinda Fray, but things were still so new and awkward that she didn’t want to disturb the budding friendship by putting it to the test of emotional support. All Lily could do was suffer in silence and let it go. But letting things go just wasn’t in her nature. She was too energetic, determined, _annoying_ as James would put it. She had to do something, otherwise she would explode. 

And that’s why she found herself sneaking off with James’s map. She wasn’t necessarily stealing it, much more borrowing it. Besides she would return it before he even noticed it was gone, intending only to use it during the hour in which James was serving his detention. With the map in one hand, she tapped her wand to it with the other and said the words James had taught her  _“I solemnly swear I am up to no good”._

Just like that, a map of Hogwarts flourished onto the old piece of parchment and she quickly searched its secrets, reading for her brother’s name. Eventually she found it, _Albus Potter,_  stationary near the dungeons of the castle. Immediately, she exited the Gryffindor common room and headed his way as stealthily as she could. Her plan, which wasn’t much of one really, was to find Albus and demand he tell her why he was avoiding her. It was simple really, but she wasn’t at all certain it would go as she hoped. 

As she ran, she checked the map again and again, making certain Albus was still in the same spot, but on her 5th check, she found he was on the move. She had to dash behind one of the suits of armor as he rounded the corner and raced passed her hiding place. 

Once he passed, Lily stepped out from behind it, thoroughly confused. What on earth was he up to? She stood there, contemplating her options. She could A. return to the common room and return her brother’s map, her theft going undetected or B. she could chase after her other brother and find out just what Albus was up to. Curiosity got the better of her and she quickly hurried after him, careful to keep her steps quiet and breaths soft so he wouldn’t hear her. She really wished she had stolen the invisibility cloak as well.

As she followed, she watched his dot escape from the walls of the castle and onto the grounds. _Maybe he’s going to Hagrid’s_ she thought, but as he rounded Hagrid’s hut, he passed it and continued on into the secrets of the forbidden forests. Lily paused, absolutely trembling. She couldn’t go into the forest, it was _forbidden_. She didn’t need to be in Ravenclaw to work that one out. Yet still, she _needed_ to know what her brother was up to. And if he was running into the forbidden forest, he could be putting himself in danger. 

On impulse, she followed him into the wood. At first, she wasn't so scared, there was a nice path in which she was following and there was still a bit of light from the fading sun that guided her way, but as she treaded deeper and deeper, the trees rose higher and higher, the ground rougher and rougher, and the sun was all but extinguished. She had to light her wand to show her the way, but her hand was trembling so badly that it was as good as a strobe light. 

And then she heard it, a crack of a twig that she tried to write off as an animal. But then another crack, a rustle of leaves, and the undeniable sound of labored breath. There was something there, something getting closer and closer to her with each second. Her brain erupted in a frenzy of panic and she took off in a sprint. Her hair flying wildly around her as the wind bit her skin, searing goosebumps. She hadn’t the slightest clue where she was going and she was really beginning to regret the fact that she wasn’t in the warm safety of the Gryffindor common room when her foot caught on a root and she subsequently tripped hard, her body being flung onto the ground.

For a fleeting, blissful moment, she felt no pain. And then like the storm that follows the rain, it all came at once. Hers knees ached with scrapes, her hands  that had reached out to break her fall stung, and her ankle felt especially tender as though it had not twisted the way it should. The worst of pain of all, however, was the small fire dancing on the side of her cheek, where it had been cut on something sharp on the ground. She pushed herself up into a seating position and began to grope the dirt in search of the source of the cut on her cheek. Her hand caught itself on a tiny, peculiar object and brought it up to the light of her wand. 

It was a man made stone, one of glass encasing an unknown symbol. For as Lily attempted to get a better look she noticed there was a deep cut in the middle of it. All she could make out was a severed circle surrounded by a triangle. It didn’t make the slightest bit of sense. But as she held it in her hands, something all the more perplexing happened. 

People began to form around her, neither fully flesh nor transparent. They stood around, creating a half circle surrounding her perch against the tree, and she let out a small squeak in surprise. They were four strangers, after all. The one on the right was tall with dark hair, a handsome face. The one on the left had sandy blonde hair and a peculiar scar across their face. One of the two in the center had long, dark red hair and beautiful face while the one beside her was tall with untidy black hair. 

“Dad?” she asked before she could stop herself. 

But as she looked closer, she realized he was not in fact her father. For he was much too young and his eyes were not the characteristic green of Harry Potter. Besides, dad was growing a beard and this man was very much beardless. Her next thought was that he looked a bit like James, her brother, but James didn’t wear glasses. Yet, the uncanny resemblance to the men in her family gnawed at her until the man in question spoke up. 

“No,” he said with a smile. “I’m not Harry.”

Come to think of it, they were all smiling down at her and it would have creeped her out if the light in their eyes didn’t make her feel warm and loved. The sort of warmth that fills her after one of Grandma Molly’s hugs, or when dad kisses the top of her head, or when mum gives her a special wink, those small intimacies received from the loving touch of family. And she couldn’t help feeling as she looked up at these four people, glowing light in the dark of the forest, that they were her family as well. 

“Who are you?” She asked. 

“But don’t you already know?” The tall, dark-haired man said. 

And then it hit her. She had seen these many faces before all around her home, encased in ornate frames or clinging to the fridge. She looked down at the small stone in her hand in complete wonder. _How could this be?_

“You’re Sirius,” she said, pointing to the dark-haired man on the right, “You’re my dad’s godfather. Dad told us all about you! My brother, James, has got your name as his middle name. He uses it all the time for a laugh. Like once mum was yelling at him that he never takes anything seriously and he said ‘but mum, Sirius is my middle name’. He would have gotten in trouble if mum hadn’t find it so funny.” 

She couldn’t help the words spilling out of her mouth in excess. She was just so excited to meet them all that she couldn’t spare the air to allow them to talk. 

“And you’re Remus,” she said, now pointing to the man on the left, “Teddy’s dad, wow you look just like him! Except he’s always changing his hair crazy colors. He keeps it blue mostly, but on Christmas he’ll have it green and red and then on easter it’s yellow. I _hate_ it yellow. I like it best pink, but he only had it like that for my last birthday because I asked.”

“You’re James,” she said, gesturing to her grandfather, “Like my brother, James. He looks a bit like you, but he’s got brown eyes, like mum. But you look _loads_  like dad. Except now he’s growing a beard, can you believe it? Mum likes it, I think, but I don’t. I just hope it doesn’t get as long as Dumbledore’s or I’ll have to cut it off in his sleep.”

She stopped to take a breath and saw that they had apparently found what she said very funny. Sirius had his hand on James’s shoulder, shaking with laughter, while James was echoing it, his own head thrown back. Remus simply shook his head, but beamed all the same. And then Lily searched her grandmother’s eyes and found that they were watching her with a small smile and she felt her stomach roll. _This_  is who she’s named after. The woman who gave her life for her son’s, so brave even in the face of death. 

“You’re Lily,” she said, voice quieter now, and the laughter of James and Sirius grew quiet as well, “I’m named after you. I-I hope you don’t mind. I don’t look too much like you. I look like my mum, everyone says so. My brother, Al, does though. He has your eyes and your smile, I think.”

Yes, her brother, Al, who wouldn’t even talk to her anymore. At the thought, a sadness began to infect the happiness that had initially erupted after seeing all these lost members of her family. She couldn’t help but feel there was something wrong with her. Once, she gained strength from her namesake, her clever and brave grandmother who she surely took after. But now that Lily thought about it, she found she was nothing like her. She didn’t look like her in the slightest and she wasn’t even brave _or_ clever. Getting lost in a forest she’s not supposed to be in, chasing after a brother who doesn’t even want see her, doesn’t exactly scream either. 

But then her grandmother bent down in front of her so that their eyes were level, brilliant green staring into soft brown. 

“I’m honored you carry my name, Lily,” she said, “and I think you look like me, you have my dimples, see?” And then she smiled, pointing to them. 

And Lily smiled as well, revealing her own. 

“You've got my chin though, poor thing,” James said from behind and Lily Luna smiled at the glare her grandmother shot to him. It was just like _her_ glare. 

And then Lily got an idea. If she couldn’t ask Al for advice, why not them?

“Can I ask you something? I sort of need advice and . . . I don’t really know who else to ask.”

They all began to sit around her now, faces alert and attentive. 

“Ask anything,” Remus encouraged. 

“Okay so here’s the thing, I sort of got lost in here chasing after my brother, Al. See, Al and I have always been close, I mean I used to tell him _everything,_ but he’s been avoiding me the whole summer and I don’t know what I did wrong! He’s keeping something from me and I haven’t got a clue why.”

There was a moment’s pause, in which they all took in her words. Lily was glad to see that they were carefully thinking of what to say back. It felt good to be able to confide in someone else again, it made the loneliness feel less suffocating. 

“I once kept a secret from those I held closest,” Remus said. 

“You did?” Lily asked, imploring him to go on. 

“Yes, I thought my secret would make me an outcast and cause my friends to hate me.”

“But we didn’t, did we?” Sirius voiced. 

“No, but I thought you would and that made all the difference.”

“I think what Remus is trying to say,” Lily’s grandmother spoke, “is that it’s not so much you that Albus resents, rather the fact that he feels there's something he can’t tell you.”

“But I’m his family, he can tell me anything!” 

“You can’t force him to tell you, I learned that with Remus,” James said. 

“So what happened then, did you ever tell them your secret?” Lily asked now, facing Remus. 

“No,” he replied with a grimace. 

“We found it out for ourselves,” Sirius said. 

“Oh. Well that’s what I was trying to do! I was following Al on the map, but then he went into the forest and I got lost!”

“Map?” James asked. 

“Yeah,” Lily replied taking out the old piece of parchment to show them, “Dad gave it to James when he first went to Hogwarts. He said to share, but James hardly ever does so I had to take it while James was in detention. “

“Oh no,” she groaned, a realization washing over her, “he’s probably out now! He’s going to _kill_ me when he finds out.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Sirius told her, “tell us more about the map. It doesn’t happen to be a map of Hogwarts, does it?”

“It does, actually,” Lily said, eying him skeptically, “how do you know about it?”

James, Sirius, and Remus grinned at one another while Lily senior sighed.

“Because we’re the ones who made it,” James proclaimed. 

“No way!” Lily exclaimed.

“Go on,” Sirius urged her, “say the magic words and see if Albus is still in the forest.”

Without further ado, she tapped her wand to the map and said, “I solemnly swear I am up to no good”.

“Really?” Lily senior said, thoroughly unimpressed, “ _That’s_ how you turn it on? You guys are such dorks.”

But James and Sirius hardly noticed, they were staring at their creation in wonder. Remus was the only one who had the decency to appear slightly ashamed. 

“Oh I never thought I’d see that beautiful sight again,” James sighed. 

Lily scoured its contents, searching her for her brother’s dot. But before she found Al’s, she found one of another brother. 

“Brilliant, James is still in detention. Filch must be making him clean without magic again,” she said. 

“Ah,” Sirius mused with a reminiscent look upon his face, “I remember those days, I nearly miss them.”

“Yeah, can’t say the same mate. I like to have feeling in my hands, thanks,” James said. 

But Remus, however, had his mind on the task at hand. “Have you found Albus?”

Lily Luna scrunched her eyebrows in reply. “Yeah . . . he’s leaving the forest now, but wait . . . he’s with his friend, Scorpius. I wonder what they’re up to . . .” she trailed off. 

“Merlin knows, we used to go into the forbidden forest all the time,” Sirius said, “most of what we did there was pretty cleaning-without-magic detention worthy.”

James laughed. “To say the least.”

Lily senior, however, frowned. “Who’s Scorpius?”

“His best friend. They’ve been friends for years now. I don’t think Al really has any other close friends besides Scorpius. He’ll comes over sometimes, on holiday and all that, he seems nice enough,” Lily Luna explained. 

At her words, Lily’s grandmother’s mind seemed to be churning as her lips pursed together in quiet concentration. Lily wondered if she had caught onto something she hadn’t and hoped her grandmother would be willing to divulge. 

“I think, Lily, that you’ll have to wait until Al is ready to tell you his secret,” she said evasively and Lily Luna was thoroughly disappointed. 

“But I hate waiting!” she cried, putting her head in her hand, “it drives me up a wall. If there’s something wrong, I want to help him!”

Her grandmother only smiled. “Restlessness is a trait I think you’ve inherited from your grandfather, here.” James grinned sheepishly. “But in this situation, waiting is what’s best. You have to give Al his time, all that you can do is be there for him no matter what and make sure he knows it too, okay?”

Lily Luna sighed, “I guess you’re right.”

“If I’ve learned anything," James said, “it’s that my wife is always right, especially now. Al is your brother, he doesn’t hate you, and he’ll be there for you too if you really need him.”

Lily was now grinning at her husband and Lily Luna felt a smile tugging at her own lips as well, her dimples poking out. 

“But for now, I think it’s time you head back to the castle, it’s getting late,” Remus suggested.

And Lily felt dread invade her heart. She looked down at the stone clutched tightly in her hand and was afraid to release it. “If I let go of this stone, you will have to leave, won’t you?”

Her grandmother nodded with a sad smile upon her face. 

“But I’ve only just met you . . .”

“You’ll see us again,” Sirius told her. 

“Yes, when you’ve lived a long and full life,” Remus said. 

“And you’ll have much more to tell us then,” James pointed out. 

Lily Luna cursed the tear threatening to creep out her eye. She wished she had all the time in the world to talk to them, to tell them all about her dad and her mum, about James and Al, and about Teddy too. She wished she could hear their stories as well, more about their forest escapades and the making of their map, about how Lily met James and how they fell in love. But time was slipping away, she couldn’t hold onto the stone forever. She was going to have to let go. 

“We don’t belong here, Lily,” her grandmother said softly and the tears were streaming down Lily Luna’s face now, slipping past the cut on her cheek. 

“Can I ask of you one more thing?” she said in a shaky voice. 

“’Course,” Sirius replied. 

“Can you show me the way, I don't know how to get back. Will you stay with me, just until then?”

“Until the very end.”

* * *

Lily Luna awoke that morning with a smile on her face. She had fallen into a heavy sleep that night and dreamt of her wanderings through a forest, guided by the radiant form of a stag. Now that she was awake, she remembered just what it was she had promised to do this morning. And so she got up and changed, heading out of the Gryffindor common room before the sun had fully risen.

She found her way with little obstruction down near the dungeons of the Slytherin common room. She had an idea of where it was, thanks to the map, but she had done away with it for today. It was tucked safely away in James's trunk with him in perfect ignorance it had ever left. No, when he arrived late in the common room last night, he found his little sister upon her favorite chair in the common room, working on homework she claimed she had been working on all night. Not a thing seemed amiss to James. 

And now Lily was awaiting the arrival of her other brother. She had only woken up so early just to be absolutely sure she wouldn't miss him and now she stood, tapping her foot, already growing restless. Maybe she shouldn't have woken up _so_ early, but then the first few Slytherin heads poked out of their common room, bleary-eyed and yawning, hardly paying her mind, and Lily quickly darted behind a suit of armor. 

She waited only a few more minutes before her brother's dark hair poked out, accompanied by his best friend's blonde hair. She stood a moment more, watching him walk just in front of the suit of armor and then --

"Boo!" she jumped out with a loud cry and Al gave a great whelp while Scorpius had wrapped his hand around Albus's, instinctually. 

"Blimey, Lily! What was that for?!" Albus seemed mad, admittedly, but Lily didn't care. That was a minor detail. 

She simply laughed and ran up to him. 

"Just wanted to wake you up, that's all," she said. 

Before he could say anything more, however, Lily wrapped her arms her brother, successively trapping him in a hug. He was quite obviously _very_ confused. 

"Uh, Lily?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you hugging me?"

"Because you're my brother and I love you."

"Er-- love you too?"

And with that, Lily pulled away, sufficiently happy. 

"Good. Hi, Scorpius," she said, now turning her attention to her brother's best friend. 

"Hi Lily, you're not going to hug me too are you?" he asked, wary. 

"Not if you don't want me too," she replied and he seemed relieved. 

"I'm good, but thanks," he said. 

She smiled and turned back to her brother. "I want to tell you something."

"Um . . . okay?"

"I want to tell you that I'm always here for you if you need me and you can tell me anything and I promise I won't judge you because I love you no matter what."

"Um . . . okay?"

"Okay! Catch you later, I'm starving, I've been up since six if you believe it. Bye Scorpius!"

And with that, a flash of red hair was the last he saw of his sister as she darted out around the corner and towards the great hall. Albus was at a loss what to say. He simply stood in the middle of the corridor, staring dumbly into space before rousing himself into action, grabbing onto his best friend's hand and continuing on his way. 

"Al, you don't think she knows . . . do you?" Scorpius spoke up after a moment of silence. 

"About what?" Albus asked, playing dumb. 

"About us?"

"No, of course not. That's just Lily, she sometimes gets in moods like that. I wouldn't be surprised if she was hugging the next person who said hi to her in the hall."

But even as he said it, he didn't feel all that reassured. _Did Lily know?_ He quickly shook that thought away. He hadn't told anyone, and neither had Scorpius. They had gone to great pains to keep what they had between them a secret, even venturing into the forbidden forest to hide themselves away from prying eyes. Lily couldn't _possibly_ know. 

"Maybe you  _should_ tell her," Scorpius suggested after a moment of silence

"What? Tell Lily? No, _no way_ , we said we wouldn't tell anyone," Albus quickly pointed out. 

"Until we're ready," Scorpius corrected. 

Albus stopped short, pausing to stare into the silver of Scorpius's eyes. 

"Are you saying you're ready?" 

Scorpius nodded and a small, hopeful smile broke out on Albus's lips. He had known he was in love with Scorpius for a while, but to share it with someone else was a scary, yet exciting prospect. It would feel good not to have to hide something that made him so damn happy away like it was a dirty, shameful thing. It just terrified him that others might treat it like it was a dirty, shameful thing. 

"And you want the first person we tell to be my little sister?"

Scorpius nodded again and Albus laughed despite himself. "But why?"

"I mean it's sort of like a stepping stone, isn't it? We don't have to go all the way with it by telling our parents, but someone we can trust. Someone who-- I don't know, might take it well. I mean she did just say she wouldn't judge you."

Albus thought about it, really thought about it. And he came to the conclusion of:  _Why not?_ And then he laughed at the thought. _Well, why not?_  He thought again. Because like Scorpius said, it wasn't going all the way. His parents could find out later, but Lily, who he had always been so close to, who would randomly storm into his room whenever she felt like it and flop herself onto his bed like it was her own,  _wouldn't judge_. 

"Okay, here's the plan. I'm going to kiss you and then, we're going to find my sister and tell her that we are very gay and very much in love with each other."

"Oh, I think that's a _great_ plan."

 

 


End file.
